For many years the lighting of the interiors of automobiles, aircraft, trains and other vehicles has been accomplished with the use of flourescent lighting systems. Flourescent lights, otherwise known as cold cathode lights, were widely used in direct or indirect lighting systems. However, flourescent lights possess many characteristics which are disadvantageous to the customer. The disadvantages include the short lifetime of the flourescent lighting tube, high power requirements, low durability, high cost for specialty designs, and high electromagnetic interference which can be detrimental to other electrical systems.
A recent advancement in lighting systems has been made which eliminates many of these disadvantages. The use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) in lighting systems has allowed the customer to avoid many of the disadvantages of using a flourescent lighting system. LED lighting systems are typically low power, have a greatly enhanced lifetime, lower replacement cost and have lower electromagnetic interference. U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,882 entitled “LED Semiconductor Lighting System” discloses one such system. This system uses LEDs in serial for illuminating vehicle interiors. The lighting system includes a plurality of LEDs contained within a sealed lighting tube. However, this system is not directed toward a high power LED lighting system. Namely, this system, which encloses the LEDs in a sealed plastic tube, does not disclose the need for heat dissipation when high power and high heat LEDs are used.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,180 entitled “Airplane Cabin Lighting Arrangement,” the disclosed lighting system is mounted in the ceiling of an airplane cabin and includes multiple LEDs connected in parallel or series to a power supply. In this system, the light sources are separated by between 25 and 50 cm. By distributing the LEDs throughout a large space, the high heat caused by high power LEDs is reduced. However, this system does not address dissipating the high heat generated when a lighting system uses LEDs in close proximity with each other.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,767 entitled “Thermal Management System for LED Arrays,” the inventor discloses a method of manufacturing an electrically-driven LED lamp including the step of screen printing an electrically insulating coating over an electrically and thermally conductive heat sink. A printing circuit with traces of a resin with a metal disbursed therein is made to establish discreet and electrically conductive paths for electrical interconnecting LEDs. This disclosed system is intended for use in tail lights of a vehicle. However, this system does not address the needs of a replaceable, movable, and durable lighting system for use to light the interior cabin of vehicles.
Therefore, any advancement in the field of an LED lighting device and system which would improve the heat dissipation, replaceability, movability and durability of the LED lighting device and system would be advantageous.